Journal 38

What did you think of the latest Journal?
Tony Summerfield
Posts: 6386
Joined: 26 Dec 2004, 12:20

Re: Journal 38

Post by Tony Summerfield »

Laura wrote:I have a query about re-paying, as I know the subscriptions have run out now. Do we get a reminder slip in this journal, or are we supposed to have paid before we get it? It's just that I haven't received my journal yet, and was wondering whether that was a fault with Royal Mail, or whether the fault lies with my not paying my fee. :?
I think that part of your question has been answered, Laura, but I can confirm that I did send you a copy of Journal 38 and it has a resubscription form in it for 39-41. As the Journals all went out at the same time, it is a bit worrying that some reached New Zealand and Australia by the end of last week before one manages to reach Scotland! Do let me know when it (hopefully) arrives.
User avatar
Julie2owlsdene
Posts: 15244
Joined: 24 Jul 2007, 20:15
Favourite book/series: F.F. and Mystery Series - Five get into Trouble
Favourite character: Dick
Location: Cornwall

Re: Journal 38

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

Excellent read. I've never read anything about Mr. Pink-Whistle before, and Anita's article was excellently written, so much so they are books I must seek out and read for myself.

I enjoyed everyone's article. The Famous Five Picture Quiz. Will we ever get to know whether our answers are correct?

I'm afraid I have removed this for the moment, Julie, as a lot of people won't have attempted the quiz yet and we don't want to give too much away! I will eventually give you the answers, I promise! :lol:
8)
Julian gave an exclamation and nudged George.
"See that? It's the black Bentley again. KMF 102!"

Society Member
Tony Summerfield
Posts: 6386
Joined: 26 Dec 2004, 12:20

Re: Journal 38

Post by Tony Summerfield »

Lucky Star wrote:He (David Cook) speculates that Two mysteries may have taken place in the same holidays. I suppose that is the most feasible explanation but that must indeed have been a long summer holiday to fit the time frame he suggests.
Private schools got (and still get) eight weeks holiday in the summer. Although the timing has now changed, at the time the books were written, they would have been from about the end of the third week in July until the middle of September. It is therefore quite feasible for a Mystery to have taken place in September.

The picture quiz is actually quite difficult, it was just my sneaky way of trying to get more people to check out the further illustrations in the Cave - they all came from there! :lol:
Laura
Posts: 321
Joined: 14 Dec 2007, 18:34
Favourite book/series: Five Find Outers, Adventure Series.
Favourite character: Fatty (so original!)
Location: The frozen north

Re: Journal 38

Post by Laura »

Tony Summerfield wrote:As the Journals all went out at the same time, it is a bit worrying that some reached New Zealand and Australia by the end of last week before one manages to reach Scotland! Do let me know when it (hopefully) arrives.
To be fair, I'm not 100% certain that it hasn't arrived. I get my journals delivered to my home address, as that's where I am during the summer, and it is easier for my parents to re-direct than it is for my Hall to do so (in fact, it doesn't prefers not to re-direct at all). I did ask my mother if anything interesting had arrived (meaning, anything that isn't a bank statement), but she might not have noticed the EBS logo on the envelope. Oh well, I'll find out tomorrow, when I go home for Easter, and I'm sure that it will be well worth the wait! :D
Society Member

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself.
User avatar
Timmy-the-dog
Posts: 184
Joined: 14 Jun 2006, 00:44
Favourite book/series: Castle of Adventure
Favourite character: Me!!
Location: UK/Far East
Contact:

Re: Journal 38

Post by Timmy-the-dog »

Oh dear, that'll teach me for spending too much time overseas!! :roll: I'll post off some money to you this week, Tony
cheers
Timmy
woof,woof!!
User avatar
Timmy-the-dog
Posts: 184
Joined: 14 Jun 2006, 00:44
Favourite book/series: Castle of Adventure
Favourite character: Me!!
Location: UK/Far East
Contact:

Re: Journal 38

Post by Timmy-the-dog »

Tony Summerfield wrote:
Timmy-the-dog wrote:I don't seem to have had one. Do I owe you some money, Tony :oops: :oops: :oops:
Timmy Dog you noticed! You are quite right I haven't sent you Journal 38, but you didn't get 36 or 37 either! Your subscription ran out a year ago with Journal 35, there was a reminder form in it. I sent you an email as a further reminder in June, but got no reply so I sent you another one in case the first one had gone astray. No reply again, so I sent a third email to a different email address, but you must have been off chasing rabbits. I tried hard as there was a new Birns discovery on the back of 36 which I thought might interest you, but sadly I failed to make contact. :cry: :cry:
Many thanks for all the above efforts, Tony
I've just put a cheque in the post :oops:
cheers
Timmy
woof,woof!!
Tony Summerfield
Posts: 6386
Joined: 26 Dec 2004, 12:20

Re: Journal 38

Post by Tony Summerfield »

You will have to tell me what the cheque is for, Timmy. If it is for the the three missing Journals, 36, 37 and 38, there will also be another resubscription form enclosed for Journals 39 to 41! :lol:
User avatar
Lenoir
Posts: 1893
Joined: 18 Jun 2005, 20:40
Favourite book/series: FFO/FF. Five run away together, Most FFO books.
Favourite character: Fatty
Location: Cape Town,South Africa

Re: Journal 38

Post by Lenoir »

I received my copy, thanks. Looks very interesting and I will be delving into it shortly.
User avatar
Anita Bensoussane
Forum Administrator
Posts: 26772
Joined: 30 Jan 2005, 23:25
Favourite book/series: Adventure series, Six Cousins books, Six Bad Boys
Favourite character: Jack Trent, Fatty and Elizabeth Allen
Location: UK

Re: Journal 38

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Lucky Star wrote: I really enjoyed John Henstock's article on Children, Crime and Caves. I broadly agree with his findings although I do remember, as a child, setting out one day to shadow some poor complete stranger after reading one of my Find-Outers books. So some aspects of Enid's writings were indeed put into practice.
My sister and I once "shadowed" a man but we weren't very discreet about it and he turned round and told us off! :oops: I too found John Henstock's discussion of dangerous episodes in children's adventure stories entertaining, especially his accounts of W. Dingwall Fordyce's Our Secret Society and the M. E. Atkinson series. Our Secret Society puts me in mind of The Island of Adventure as well as the Find-Outers and Secret Seven. Great to see the Stuart Tresilian illustration from Atkinson's Challenge to Adventure too. The comment by "The Bear" from Hunters Moon provides food for thought, though it's shocking that he throws his stepson's adventure book into the fire! I'm sure that, if I'd had the opportunity as a youngster aged about eight to eleven, I'd have had no qualms about exploring caves and rocky passages armed with nothing but a torch and a bar of chocolate (although had I actually tried, the grim reality of the experience may well have caused me to turn back pretty quickly!) Enid Blyton made such expeditions sound exciting and I would have been blissfully unaware of all the possible dangers. What did horrify me though, even as a child, were the descriptions of children swimming through tunnels that were completely filled with water up to the roof. Usually, the characters had no idea of the length of the flooded tunnel or whether there might be rocks jutting out, etc. They just plunged right in and hoped for the best! The idea of hiding in a car boot made me shiver as well. However, I certainly can't recall hearing numerous real-life stories of children having risked their lives through copying something from an adventure book so I'd agree with John Henstock when he concludes, "Perhaps, though, the potential danger is not really so great."

It's interesting that David Chambers found so many uncollected Josie, Click and Bun tales, though I must admit that the various picture-strip Enid Blyton stories don't appeal to me a great deal as they don't give Enid as much scope as the text ones.

Robert Houghton made some very pertinent points as always in his write-up of Holiday House, particularly with regard to Ruth's psychology and possible allusions to Imogen.

David Cook's Find-Outers article was written with humour and I chuckled at his remark about Sid's inability to say anything other than "Ar" - "This of course puts him on a conversational level equal to the puffins featured in The Sea of Adventure." :lol:

"Peak and Puke" is quite typical of the stories that Enid wrote in order to draw children's attention to various things in the natural world - in this case the black middles of poppies. But goodness knows why the publishers didn't ask her to think of a more palatable name for Puke!

The Famous Five Picture Quiz is quite a challenge and I certainly can't identify all the characters. It's fun trying, though!

Anita
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


Society Member
User avatar
David Chambers
Posts: 26
Joined: 22 Jul 2006, 21:00
Location: Somerset, UK

Re: Journal 38

Post by David Chambers »

It's interesting that David Chambers found so many uncollected Josie, Click and Bun tales, though I must admit that the various picture-strip Enid Blyton stories don't appeal to me a great deal as they don't give Enid as much scope as the text ones.
I enjoyed your article on Mr Pinkwhistle, Anita.
I take your point with Josie, Click and Bun. The main reason for writing the piece was to note the details for prosperity and for those who may be interested. I know you’ll agree it’s always exciting to find out there’s more to collect if you have a favourite character.
By the way did you know there is a hairdressing salon in San Francisco named Mr Pinkwhistle after Enid's creation? http://www.sfstation.com/mr-pinkwhistle-a5241" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

David
User avatar
Anita Bensoussane
Forum Administrator
Posts: 26772
Joined: 30 Jan 2005, 23:25
Favourite book/series: Adventure series, Six Cousins books, Six Bad Boys
Favourite character: Jack Trent, Fatty and Elizabeth Allen
Location: UK

Re: Journal 38

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

David Chambers wrote:I take your point with Josie, Click and Bun. The main reason for writing the piece was to note the details for prosperity and for those who may be interested. I know you’ll agree it’s always exciting to find out there’s more to collect if you have a favourite character.
Yes, locating and noting the details of uncollected stories like that must take a lot of work but the information is invaluable to Enid Blyton enthusiasts. I remember being very surprised and intrigued when you found so many uncollected stories about Pip the pixie some years ago.
David Chambers wrote:By the way did you know there is a hairdressing salon in San Francisco named Mr Pinkwhistle after Enid's creation? http://www.sfstation.com/mr-pinkwhistle-a5241" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
To use a Blytonian-sounding phrase: "Well, I never did!" :o :)

Anita
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


Society Member
User avatar
booklover
Posts: 249
Joined: 23 Mar 2005, 10:30
Favourite book/series: Whyteleafe, Faraway Tree, "Barney" books
Favourite character: Elizabeth Allen, Fatty, Barney and Snubby
Location: Australia

Re: Journal 38

Post by booklover »

Greetings everyone :D

Well done to Tony and all the contributors on another excellent journal. All the articles were extremely interesting for Blyton enthusiasts. We are all extremely fortunate to have Tony produce such a high quality publication four times a year and to have so many regular contributors.

Like Anita, the orange edition of Mr Pink-Whistle's Party was one of my first Enid Blyton books, along with Chimney Corner Stories and Five Fall Into Adventure. I experienced similar sentiments to Anita, although at a little older than four and a half years old! Getting lost in this wonderful world created by Enid Blyton was a wonderful memory. In comparison, I remember wondering why all the Dean's Classics authors could only ever manage one or two books, when here was Enid Blyton writing literally hundreds of books! What was wrong with those other authors? :shock:

Regarding John Lester's article on My Enid Blyton Book, all but one of the stories is included in Dean & Sons (now Dean's) #5 Round the Clock Stories. (The Poor Pink Pig is in Dean's Storytime Book). Here's the link to My Enid Blyton Book in The Cave of Books. http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... lyton+Book+(No.1+1948" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) And here's Dean's Round the Clock Stories. http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... ck+Stories+(No.+5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Some research in The Cave of Books shows that Dean republished nearly all the short stories from the My Enid Blyton Book series. Eleven of 13 stories from My Enid Blyton Book (No. 2) (1949) are in #6 Chimney Corner Stories, and 11 of 13 stories from My Enid Blyton Book (No. 3) (1950) are in #8 Tales of Toyland and Other Stories. Fans wanting to read these excellent short stories may find it easier to get the Dean books rather than the older original books.
User avatar
manzanita
Posts: 328
Joined: 02 Jul 2007, 18:33
Favourite book/series: Five Find Outers, Barney, Secret and Adventure!
Location: Okehampton

Re: Journal 38

Post by manzanita »

:( I still haven't received my copy - has it definitely been posted Tony?
User avatar
Moonraker
Posts: 22387
Joined: 31 Jan 2005, 19:15
Location: Wiltshire, England
Contact:

Re: Journal 38

Post by Moonraker »

Robert Houghton wrote:but then looking at the 'Journal 38' thread, only eight or nine forumites have actually commented on the contents, which shows that most people just arent really bothered enough to 'walk the walk' or 'talk the talk' when it comes to society matters!
Point taken, Rob - although I did make a brief comment earlier! :D

The fact is, I was leaving my views on the Journal until I had borrowed a copy (First Edition with dust jacket!) of Holiday House, as I started to read your review, Rob, and my appetite was well and truly whetted. As I thought you might reveal the plot details, I wanted to read it first!

A lovely cover met me as I drew it out of its envelope. Grace Lodge makes the children look pretty angelic, even if they are dreadful! I rarely look at the Contents page, as I like to read it from cover to cover, and love the surprise of finding an article on one of my favourite series or books. Viv's article jumped out at me on page 3 (Viv? A page three girl?). It was interesting to see that her Story Centre is nearing completion, I wish her every success. However, I did miss Tony's editorial; to me, a Journal without this is a bit like ginger beer without the bubbles! It also seemed a shame that he couldn't plug the Society Day in this edition. Let's not forget that the Forummers who subscribe to the Journal only make up a very small part of the membership.

I have never been a fan of Mr Pink-Whistle, but Anita's excellent article made me want to learn more. I am not normally that interested in other children's authors (as a child, I read mainly Blyton, although William and Jennings featured too, as well as Malcolm Saville - Oh, and Lewis Caroll of course!), as there isn't the nostalgia factor there. However, I did find John Henstock's article fascinating. It was good to see old Bunter pictured there!

The highlight for me (as always) is David Cook's series on the Find-Outers. Being my all-time favourite series, it is so interesting to see another viewpoint on it. I love the way David takes us through a book at a time, and he often points things out that I had completely missed - even after reading the book 30 times or more!

I must agree with Rob about the dialogue of The Reward of Virtue. The dialect reminded me of a Norfolk brogue. Remember "Ha' you got a light, boy", by the Singing Postman? I read the paragraph that confused Terry as "...that there board?" from the start. Enid had literally written the dialogue as it had sounded. I must say, the story reminded me somewhat of Jethro's "Train don't stop at Camborne on a Wednesday" joke!

Rob's Holiday House did what a good review should do - make me want to read the book (although, if I had read it all, there wouldn't have been much point, as all the details had been revealed!). I must agree with him that the illustrations of the twins did seem to change drastically through the book! I was very sorry that Enid decided to write John out of the story - I really thought he was somehow involved in the plot, and would make a re-appearance later on. I found Ruth an irritating, although necessary character in the story. I wonder if John reminded Enid of someone - someone whom she wished she could have got rid off?! I am pretty sure that I had never read this book before, so thanks, Rob, for bringing it to my attention. Thanks too to the caveman who lent me his copy!

I found Enid's Weekly Talk on opinions fascinating too. How many of have opinions, but we don't really know why? Maybe I could learn a lesson here!

John Lester's piece on My Enid Blyton Book was fascinating too. I must say, pixie and goblin stories aren't my favourite genre (Enchanted Wood aside!), but still make a good read. Maybe I should re-visit a few of these enchanted districts again?

A truly marvellous Journal. Great contributors as usual. I think mention should be made again of Tony's involvement. We tend to forget that not only does he have to put flyers into many of the Journals (re-subscription reminders, for example), but he has to stuff nearly 600 copies into envelopes, then cart them all down to the post office. No mean feat. We're all extremely grateful, Tony.
Society Member
Tony Summerfield
Posts: 6386
Joined: 26 Dec 2004, 12:20

Re: Journal 38

Post by Tony Summerfield »

manzanita wrote::( I still haven't received my copy - has it definitely been posted Tony?
No!! :oops: When you resubscribed after a period of 'rest', I put you back into all the various files, except one - the one that mattered! I will put it in the post today on my way to Dame Slap's study!
Post Reply